


alone together

by nearimia



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bilingual Lance (Voltron), Bisexual Allura (Voltron), Coran Coran The Gorgeous Man, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Galaxy Garrison, Garrison trio, Great Galactic War, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, Lance is a dork, Lance's niece and nephew are the cutest, Multi, Party, Pidge | Katie Holt is Savage, Post-Canon, Space Uncle Coran (Voltron), Trans Romelle (Voltron), Working title, allura is a flirt, and romelle RoRo, but srsly this is kinda garbage, idk abt s8 tho, might change rating, not s8 compliant, romelle is a sweetie, they call pidge Aunt Katie, will add tags later so i dont spoil anything
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-10-04
Packaged: 2019-07-25 10:41:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16195892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nearimia/pseuds/nearimia
Summary: "The Paladins of Voltron were settling in, unaware that they’d soon be uprooted again. They were all getting used to their lives on Earth, some even planning to return to space after they rebuilt the planet. None of them knew what was going to happen, but oh how they wish they had more time to feel normal."





	1. the calm before the storm

It was strange being back on earth. It was weird to revert back to using minutes and seconds instead of doboshes and ticks. It was baffling that the change of seasons was consistent, unlike some of the planets they’d explored. Pidge found it especially strange that every single day around the same time, the sun would set. She never really cared for sunsets before, after all, a billion sunsets just happen every day. But now, she watched every single one. The sunsets made her feel full of life and love, at least for a little while. Then she’d go back to feeling a cold hollowness in her chest, as if a vital organ had been ripped out.

Lance was only just getting used to waking up without the sun shining in his room on the castle. So to wake up with the soft light leaking into his new bedroom made him feel like he was a little kid again. That feeling would vanish quickly once he noticed that he wasn’t in his childhood bedroom, but in one of the many identical houses the Galaxy Garrison had set up for the Paladin’s families and refugees alike. He and the other paladins (along with Coran and Romelle) had the option to stay at the Garrison’s dorms but he still hadn’t gotten enough of his family, so he politely declined. Nevertheless, Lance was overjoyed to be back, even if something felt like it was still missing.

Keith had never really cared much for Earth. The only important thing he has left here, besides Shiro, is his father’s grave. Still, he was happy to have his mom on earth with him. He regaled her with the stories of his time in the Garrison, like the time he stole Shiro’s car, or when he’d punched Iverson’s eye, which subsequently got him expelled. He’d wanted to show her the hoverbike he’d made out of scrap parts, but it was gone, along with what was left of his old home. Either way, he was content. He had his mom, and he had Shiro and the team. What else could he possibly need?

Allura loved Earth. Not only was it beautiful but the earthlings had so many different cultures and customs, and she wanted nothing more than to experience them all. She and Coran had also run many experiments on every natural element of Earth they could get their hands on. The composition of elements here was so much more simple than everything on Altea that it baffled them both that the humans could thrive in such a mundane environment. That’s what she loved most about this place, it’s simplicity. It may not be extraordinary but it made Allura feel comfortable, as if she were back on Altea, having a lesson with Coran; just waiting for it to be over so she could go play with her friends. She knew she’d grow tired of earth eventually, but for the time being, she wanted to savour everything, because there was a chance she might never come back here again.

Hunk was ecstatic. His family was safe, Earth was safe, and they were all safe. He was a little worried about his cousins though. They were so young, yet they’d seen so much. They’d be growing up in a world that was in the stage of reconstruction and they might never see it the same as it was before. That was the only thing that could dampen his mood, along with the fact that Shay had moved on from him. He couldn’t exactly blame her, everyone had thought they were dead for three whole years. He was just happy that she was happy, and she was happy that he was alive. Still, he couldn’t help but feel a little bit sad.

The Paladins of Voltron were settling in, unaware that they’d soon be uprooted again. They were all getting used to their lives on Earth, some even planning to return to space after they rebuilt the planet. None of them knew what was going to happen, but oh how they wish they had more time to feel normal.


	2. something sparkly

It was that time of year where you’d wear a sweater in the morning but regret it in the afternoon. Pidge just so happened to be wearing one of Matt’s old sweaters. She pushed up the sleeves of the sweater as she watched Allura try to fuse the paladin suits with Altean magic. If it worked, they’d be able to call on them like they could their bayards and the lions. Not having to try and change into that weird black undersuit every time they needed to form Voltron sounded really good to Pidge, especially considering how sweaty those things got.

Allura opened her eyes and stepped back from the last suit of armour and Pidge walked over to her own suit.

“Is there a way to test these?” Pidge said, mostly to herself.

“I’m assuming you’d have to form some kind of bond with them before they just come to you,” Allura picked up her chest plate, “But I guess we’ve already had our fair share of experiences with these.” She placed it down and looked at Pidge, “So,” She said, stretching the word, “are you excited for the gala tonight?” Pidge snapped out of her trance and turned to her.

“Wait, that’s tonight?” Allura nodded, “But I don’t have anything to wear. Unless, of course, you changed your mind about letting me wear my paladin armour.” Pidge gave her an award-winning smile and her biggest puppy dog eyes, hoping that the Princess would change her mind.

“No,” she said bluntly, ignoring Pidge’s pout, “This is a formal event, and besides, I love how much we’ve been hanging out lately. On the castle, we were always too busy with defending the universe and you were always dead set on finding your family, but now that we’re all safe on earth, we’ve been hanging out a lot more. It almost feels like I have a sister.” Allura’s face became sad as if she was remembering her family and Pidge just couldn’t say no to her. She knew what it was like to find a family after feeling alone for so long.

“Fine,” She said, brightening Allura’s, mood instantly, “That still doesn’t change the fact that I don’t have anything to wear.”

“Not to worry,” The Princess grabbed her hand and started walking towards the door, “There’s a mall nearby that wasn’t completely destroyed, and a lot of people have set up shop in there.”

“I can drive you,” said a new voice, “Besides, I still owe the Princess something sparkly.” Lance was standing just outside the door of one of the Garrison’s many labs, holding up the keys to what Pidge assumes was an MFE cruiser, due to the fact that most real roads were destroyed and cars just couldn’t be used. Pidge was happy to see Lance. He’d been spending most of his time in the house his family was in, so they hadn’t been able to hang out as much. Still, Pidge would always take time away from the Garrison to go visit Lance and he’d done the same for her. The pair had grown a lot closer ever since they got the Mercury Gameflux II to work, Lance had even brought it with him before the castle was destroyed. Besides, Pidge loved Lance’s family.

“Thank you, _Lance_ , but I think Pidge is the one who needs something sparkly.” Pidge rolled her eyes. The Princess still seemed oblivious to Lance’s flirting.

“Even though you’re right, I’m not going to accept it,” Pidge said, snatching the keys out of Lance’s hand, “Oh, and I’m driving.”

  -----------------

Lance noted that off-road driving isn’t really Pidge’s thing. After she’d hit a second bump in the half-cleared road, Allura had offered to take over, claiming that this isn’t much different than piloting the castle. She was wrong. In the end, Lance was the one that got them there, with only a few minor scratches.

The mall was huge and even though there were a few walls and bits of floor missing, there was still a substantial amount of people there. I guess they wanted a bit of normalcy. The three of them were navigating through the crowds while avoiding the holes in the ground when Allura spotted a clothing store that looked semi-intact. The walls that probably used to be bleach white were now a weird greyish colour in some areas and there was no glass in the display case, but beyond that, it looked pretty normal.

“And so the adventure begins,” Allura said mischievously. She and Lance had this almost scary glint in their eyes, and Pidge deduced that whatever they were thinking would not end well for her. She didn’t even know the half of it.

  -----------------

Outfits upon outfits later, Allura and Lance- or ‘Team Allurance’ as they’d started calling themselves -finally picked out something more to Pidge’s taste. It was a short-sleeved black jumpsuit with flowy pants that almost looked like a skirt if you squint hard enough. When she walked out of the dressing room, Lance’s eyes went wide and Pidge thinks his face was a bit pinker than earlier. Maybe Allura had finally flirted back while she was changing. She did a little twirl before coming to a dramatic stop. “What do you think?” she said, flipping her hair, which was dangerously close to touching her shoulders.

“You look marvellous!” Allura clapped her hands, “Now all we need are shoes, a bag and jewellery.”

“Or we could just, not.”

“Nonsense, Pidgeon,” Lance chimed, “An outfit is nothing without accessories. Besides, you still need something sparkly.”

“I thought you were kidding about that,” Pidge was starting to get a little scared of how determined ‘Team Allurance’ was.

“When has _Sharpshooter_ ever joked about fashion,” Lance looked like he was ready to drag Pidge around the store to find her something and Allura looked even more determined than when they were Defending the Universe. So Pidge did the only thing she could do. She gave in.

 

The something sparkly ended up being a silver bracelet. It was a thick bangle type thing that Pidge only agreed to buy because all the other options were extremely extra. Paired with a pair of white and silver sneakers (Pidge can barely stand in heels), she looked absolutely stunning. Or at least Lance thought so.

“I feel like there’s something missing,” Allura was studying Pidge as if she was a question without an answer.

“What do you mean? I have shoes, clothes and even a bracelet! What else even is there?” Pidge wanted to leave. ‘Team Allurance’ had kept her here for over 2 hours and she still had to go check on the preparations for the ‘Welcome Back to Earth (and also thanks for saving the universe)’ gala.

“I guess this'll have to do,” Allura pushed Pidge into the change room, “Now get back in your own clothes so we can pay.”

“I am not letting yo-” Allura slammed the change room door.

 -----------------

“Your total has come to $XX.xx,” the cashier said, wearing a fake smile, “How will you be paying?”

“Cash-”

“Debit-”

“Gac-”

“Yeah, there’s no way in hell I’m letting you two pay for MY clothes,” Pidge pulled cash out of her wallet.

Lance snatched the cash and held it up so she couldn’t reach it, “My mother would crucify me if she found out I let you pay,” He turned to the cashier, “Take my card.”

“Stop it you two. I will be paying. You’re the ones who travelled across the universe and woke me from my 10,000-year nap. I owe you my life, this is the least I can do.”

“Wait,” The cashier interrupted, “Are you guys the _Paladins_ _of_ _Voltron_?”

“Oh, yes! I am Allura, Paladin of the Blue Lion and my friends here are Pidge and Lance, Paladins of the Green and Red Lions.” Allura went from slightly awkward to perfectly composed so quickly it made Lance’s head spin.

“Wel, in that case, your total is $0.00,” The cashier handed them the bag of clothes, “Consider it a thanks. For, you know, not letting Earth get destroyed.”

“Oh,” Allura giggled and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, “Thank you very much.” The cashier smiled back, cheeks slightly pink.

“It’s no problem at all. In fact,” She pulled out a slip of paper, “if there’s anything you need, just give me a call.” She handed the paper to Allura.

“Thank you,” She looked at the paper, “Connie. We will.” Allura smiled again and Pidge swore she saw her face turn a bit red.

  -----------------

“Daaammn,” Lance whispered once they’d left the store, “Allura’s got game.”

“Maybe you could learn a thing or two.” Pidge smirked

“Rude.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love allura sm  
> aNYWAYS i have a feeling i'll actually be writing because i have a lot of schoolwork and i'm a pro procrastinator
> 
> thanks for reading  
> x


	3. turning red

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow i'm actually updating this wtf  
> this'll become less common once my teachers actually start teaching  
> i swear the story will go somewhere but it's just hard to segway into it without feeling like there isn't enough backstory y'know  
> anywhomst i hope you enjoy this and sorry its crap  
> x

“As you already know, the gala starts at 4 for our friends and family, and at 6 o’clock it becomes a celebration of the Coalition. I expect all of your families to be cleared out by then, with the exception of the Holts and Krolia, as well as any other family members who are apart of the Galaxy Garrison,” Allura turned over to Lance, “This means that your sister can stay, provided you behave,” She faced the group once again, “The MFE pilots will also be joining us during the family portion, as will the rebels,” She looked at the watch Pidge had made for her, “Now, you all have two hours to get ready, and I expect you to be here twenty minutes early. Dismissed.”  

“Getting ready is such a pain,” Pidge grumbled, still holding her newly acquired outfit.

“You already have an outfit. What else do you need?” Lance said, trying to keep his strides short so Pidge could keep up.

“My mom says she wants my hair out of my eyes,” She brushed her bangs from her face, “Frankly, I just don’t know how to do hair, or makeup, or anything to do with outward appearances.”

“You can come get ready at my place,” Lance offered, “My sisters are both really good at doing hair and I’m actually decent at makeup. I mean I did grow up with two sisters and they couldn’t exactly be trusted with anything that changes your face.”

Pidge laughed, shaking her head. “That sounds great, Lance. I’m just gonna tell Matt first,” She pulled out a Garrison issued cell phone that only worked around the premises. Communication has been difficult, to say the least. Most cell towers were knocked down during the attack and even though they aren’t needed to communicate, having them makes the connection stronger. That and the fact that most people’s homes and all their stuff was destroyed makes getting in contact with people out of range a little difficult. Pidge, Hunk and some tech specialists from the Garrison have been working on infusing Earth tech with more advanced technology from space. Allura and Coran have been helping. Technology has been advancing far faster than anything Lance has ever seen and he’s convinced that it wouldn’t be going this well if it weren’t for Pidge.

“Matt didn’t seem at all disappointed,” Pidge shoved her phone back into her back pocket, “I’m sure he just wants to spend more time with his new _girlfriend_.” She said the word as if she was teasing Matt, even though he wasn’t here.

“Let’s go then!” Lance started walking faster and Pidge was jogging to keep up with him.

“Could you...maybe...slow...down,” She said while trying to keep stride with Lance.

“Right, I forgot you little legs prevented you from going fast,” Pidge shot him a murderous glare, but Lance thought that the jab was totally worth the daggers she was shooting at him, “C’mon Pidgeon, I’ll carry you.” She rolled her eyes.

“Fine,” she sighed, “But only because I don’t want to be late.” She started was about to jump on his back for a piggyback ride, but before she could go anywhere, her feet were lifted off the ground. Pidge yelped at grabbed the thing closest to her, which just so happened to be Lance’s arm. “This isn’t what I meant! Put me down!” Pidge exclaimed.

“If I let you walk, we’ll be late,” Lance reasoned, already on the move. Pidge slumped in defeat and Lance had to admit she was pretty cute when she was mad.

 

 -----------------

 

Though Lance would never forget Pidge’s face when he swooped her up in his arms, bridal style, he had to admit that his sister’s faces when he kicked open the door and waltzed in with Pidge, were just as priceless. Veronica instantly started laughing so hard that she fell off the couch and Rachel was just starting, dumbfound.

“I’m home~,” Lance sang, walking over to the couch where he let Pidge go free.

“I could’ve walked into your house on my own feet, you know,” Pidge was dusting off her clothes and cleaning Matt’s glasses as if she’s gone through a storm rather than been carried for a few minutes.  
“I know, but you should’ve seen the look on Ronnie and Rach’s faces, totally priceless,” He fake wiped a tear from his eye and turned to his sisters, “Speaking of which, Pidge needs your guys' help getting ready,” He leaned in as if he was telling a secret, “She can’t do her hair.” Pidge snorted.

“No worries, _mi_ _futura_ _cuñada_ ,” Veronica winked, “Your knight in shining armour is here to save you.” Pidge laughed and plopped down on the floor next to her.

“Is this where Lance gets his _Loverboy_ persona," Pidge said, doing jazz hands.

“ _Loverboy Lance_? Why is this the first I’m hearing about this?”

“Oh my god, he didn’t tell you?” she shook her head, “This is the most hilarious thing you’ll ever hear, I even have videos!” Pidge snatched her old phone, the one that only contained pictures and videos instead of making calls, and held it up.

“I have a feeling this story’s going to take a while, so how ‘bout we all go get ready in my room, huh?” Veronica was already pulling Pidge to her feet and rushing towards her room before even finishing the sentence, “Be there in five, Lance,” she said, throwing him a thumbs-up with her free hand. Pidge thought she was just really eager for another story from the adventures of _Voltron_ , but unbeknownst to her, Veronica was saving her brother from embarrassment, because Lance’s face was so red he looked like he was about to explode. Veronica couldn’t exactly take credit for the kind gesture though, considering it was her fault he was blushing anyways. She just couldn’t help but comment on how Pidge was almost definitely going to be her future sister-in-law. She was delighted by his reaction though, it meant that Rachel now owed her ten dollars.

“So, you really like her, eh,” Rachel stood and ruffled her twin’s hair, “I’m glad you found someone as smart and strong as her, maybe she’ll finally whip you into shape,”

Lance chuckled and stared at his hands, not denying Rachel’s claim. “Believe me,” he sighed wistfully, “she’s already made me a better person than I ever would’ve been on my own.”

“No, Lance,” Rachel kneeled down and took one of his hands in both of hers, “You made yourself a better person, she just inspired you to do so.”

“I’m just, so,” He put his head in his hands, “I don’t know. I used to think that it was Allura who inspired me to do better. I thought it was her who made me want to be smarter, to work harder, and to succeed. But then I realised that the only reason I’d gotten any better was because I wanted to be more like Pidge. I wanted to be as smart as her, or even somewhere close to that. She even simplified her explanations so I could keep up. Allura never did that. I wanted to be as determined as her. If she has a goal, she’s always dead-set on achieving it, and she will, no matter what. She inspired me. And when I finally realised that, I was scared,” he took a deep breath, “I knew that I wasn’t good enough for her. That there’d always be someone better than me, and that she deserves the best, even if that isn’t me.” Rachel pulled him into a hug.

“How about, instead of worrying that you aren’t good enough, which, news flash, you so are, we get ready, make you hot, and then you can knock the socks off your dream girl,” She patted his back and pulled him to his feet, “Now, what’s this I hear about _Loverboy Lance_?”

\-----------------

 

Back at the Garrison, Romelle was troubled. She’d never had a crush before, so she didn’t really know what to do. Therefore, she did the only reasonable thing. She went to Allura. At the time, Romelle didn’t know that Allura was the biggest gossip in the entire universe, nor did she know that Allura already knew a little something about the certain someone she had her eye on, thanks to the mice and their snooping skills. She also wasn’t aware that Allura would do anything in her power to make her friends happy, especially when it came to romance. After finding all these things out, Romelle would come to resent these traits in the fellow Altean, but after a little while, she would come to appreciate Allura, meddling and all. But for the time being, she was going in eyes closed, head first, praying she wouldn’t lose.

“Hello Allura,” she said as she knocked on the open door frame, “How are you?”

“I’m quite alright, just a little stressed out about the gala,” she smiled at Romelle briefly, before going through the clothes she’d salvaged from the castle before it’s destruction, “What brings you to my humble abode? Do you need help getting ready?” The Princess seemed, distracted, to say the least. Almost as if she’d just started to figure something out, but wasn’t quite sure how everything fit in place.

“Actually,” she wrung her fingers nervously, moving to sit on the bed, “I came to ask about your fellow paladins, specifically if any of them are _involved_ with other people.” This seems to have piqued her interest. She stood up and glanced out the door before quietly shutting it.

“What exactly do you mean by _involved_?” She started sifting through her clothes once more, this time for Romelle.

“I _mean_ , are any of them in a relationship?” Her eyes held a look of reluctant hope as if she wished the answer was no but she knew that her chances were unlikely either way.

“Well, I don’t know for sure but the mice have told me that two of the paladins have feelings for each other, though neither of them will tell the other,” She picked up a dress and held it up to Romelle. She then shook her head and went back to her clothes. Romelle was looking more worried than ever and she was bouncing her leg restlessly.

“Which ones?” She was borderline desperate now, worrying that these butterflies would never go away if she didn’t do something about them.

“Don’t worry,” Allura picked up another dress and nodded to herself, before handing it to Romelle, “It’s not Hunk.” She said simply, a sly smirk creeping onto her face as Romelle slowly turned pink. “Now get changed, or you won’t be able to dance with him.”

 

It was going to be a long, unforgettable, night.


	4. the great gala I

“LANCE!,” Veronica yelled as she pounded on the bathroom door, “HURRY UP YOU _IDIOTA_. ALLURA WILL CRUCIFY US IF WE’RE LATE.”

Lance opened the door and poked his head out, “Jeez Ronnie, the whole neighbourhood doesn’t need to know,” he closes the door and then opens it fully, revealing his light blue button up shirt and black dress pants, “Besides, I’m all ready to go.” Veronica’s glare was fiery, but Lance stood his ground, unaffected. She groaned and pulled his arm, dragging him towards the door while tucking her hair behind her ear with her free hand.

“We have to get going, your little _novia_ is waiting outside for you,” she shoved him towards the open door as she pulled on her shoe. Lance rolled his eyes at her.

“ _Oh déjala fuera de este,”_ Veronica chuckled, “Where’s everyone else?” They stepped outside and she locked the door behind them.

“They decided that they wanted to live another day so they went along without us,”

“Finally,” Pidge sighed, “What took  you guys so long?”

“Lance was just busy staring at himself in the mirror,” Both girls laughed lightly as they started walking towards the Garrison’s secondary building and when they noticed that Lance hadn’t even tried to deny Veronica’s little quip, they turned around to check on him. What they were met with was Lance, mouth agape, cheeks pink. He seemed like he was in a daze.

“Lance?” Pidge said, and when he didn’t respond she went up to him and clapped in from of his still frozen face, “Earth to Lance,” she poked his cheek, “Is anyone home?”

“Oh, yeah, I-i’m here, sorry,” he rubbed his neck with his hand like he did when he was nervous, “I was just, uh, surprised by you, er, your hair. Yeah, y-your hair!” He pointed at her delicate and elegant crown braid, with little grey ribbons woven in.

“Oh, Veronica did it,” She did a little twirl and Lance swore his heart did a leap, “I really like it,”

“I, uh, really like it too,” He smiled softly, “It looks great on you, Pidge,” They smiled at each other for a few seconds before Veronica cleared her throat.

“As adorable as this moment is, I really think we should get going before Allura sends out some assassins to kill us,”

“Veronica’s probably right,” Pidge ran over to Veronica, who dramatically offered her an arm. Pidge nodded her head and looped her arm through Veronica’s and they started off towards the Garrison, Lance walking behind them.

 

\-----------------

 

Allura was stressed. It’s not like the building was on fire or anything. It’s just that the special entertainment she had planned ended up cancelling last minute, making this just a normal party instead of a gala, and some of the paladins weren’t even here yet. But it wasn’t as disastrous as defending the universe and everyone here seemed to be enjoying themselves regardless of the lack of special entertainment. There was a live concert band that Allura had hired to play, and there was food that Hunk had picked himself. It was all going smoothly but, she just couldn’t help being nervous.

“Princess Allura?” she whirled around at the sound of her name and instantly broke out into a smile.

“Connie! I’m so glad you could attend,” Allura had thought it only right to invite the nice cashier who’d given them Pidge’s clothes for free, besides she was pretty, “You look absolutely radiant,” Connie was wearing a greyish lilac dress with slightly translucent sleeves that were cuffed at the wrist, and she truly did look radiant (or at least Allura thought so).

“I could never compare to you, Princess,” she noted. Allura was wearing one of her old dresses. It was completely white and it floated around her like a cloud, making her look like an angel. That, mixed with the intricate braid she was sporting, was more than enough to make Connie weak in the knees.

“Why thank you,” she said, giggling a little, “and you can call me Allura.”

“Well, Allura, the gala’s doing great,” she gestured at the makeshift ballroom, “Everything looks amazing.”

“I can’t exactly take credit for that, but this would be going a lot better if the rest of the guests would finally show up,” Just then, the door swung open and holding it open was Lance. Veronica and Pidge walked in right after, arm in arm, “There they are!” Allura grabbed Connie’s hand and they walked over to Pidge and the McClain siblings, where the other Paladins seemed to be converging.

“Hey isn’t that the cashier from earlier?” Lance asked, not giving a second glance to their entwined hands.

“Her name is Connie, and I invited her,” Allura said in a tone that told them she’d rip them apart if they dared question her.

“That was a good call Allura,” Pidge said, finally letting go of Veronica’s arm. Lance took that opportunity to wrap his arms around her shoulders like he used to back on the castle.

“Aw, man, you guys all look amazing,” Hunk exclaimed as he stepped up to the group, holding a small plate of chips. He was met with a chorus of ‘Thanks buddy’ and ‘You look great too!’

“Anyways, do you all remember the emergency exits and the safe rooms?” Allura said, just as Shiro and Keith joined the group. Everyone replied positively. “Do you all have your keys to unlock the safe rooms if we need to get into them?” More nods and other yeses floated through the small group. “You all remember that the civilians are the priority, especially since there are a few children here?”

“Allura, there is no way in hell I would let my niece and nephew get hurt,” Lance said firmly, “If anyone so much as looks at them funny, I’m taking them to safety.”

“My cousins all grew up when we were in space, so Nadia and Sylvio are technically the only children here,” Hunk said, “So they’re the first priority.” He crunched on another chip.

“But it won’t come to that since the Garrison’s security has been updated by this genius,” Lance patted Pidge’s shoulder, looking proud on her behalf.

“It was nothing, really,” she reached her hand to her face as if she was trying to push her glasses up, only to find that they weren’t there, “Earth’s defenses are ancient compared to even the simplest Altean tech. All I had to do was incorporate the same functions using Earth tech instead of Altean tech.”

“Well, either way, you’re keeping us safe,” They looked at each other softly and Veronica and Hunk shared a knowing look.

“Now remember,” Allura started again, “If there’s an attack, you are to evacuate all civilians, but if the exits are blocked you,” she gestures to the group, “are to take as many people into the safe rooms as possible, starting with the children. If you aren’t near any children, you are to make sure that everyone else is safe. Make sure that you don’t hit anyone while you fight. Now, go mingle! Talk to your friend’s families! Get out there and have a good time!”

 

\-----------------

 

“You’re quite the inspirational speaker,” Connie said while sipping her drink.

“Well I was raised to be a princess and that does have its fair share of public speaking,” Allura held out her hand, “May I have this dance.” She bowed down and Connie grabbed her hand, putting her drink on a nearby table.

“Why of course, Princess.” She grabbed Allura’s hand and they danced around, passing Romelle and Hunk, both equally flustered as they tripped through the song. Allura saw Veronica and Rizavi pushing Lance towards someone, but she couldn’t see who it was. She finally felt relaxed, especially after worrying about the what-ifs of this gala. In a few hours, diplomats from all over the galaxy would be coming here, and the Coalition will forever be changed, but right now, she was dancing with a pretty girl, and nothing could ruin her mood. Or at least that’s what she thought.


	5. the great gala II

At first, no one noticed the fact that there were way more people in the room then there should have been, but they were all quite busy. Allura was still dancing with Connie, and every now and again one of them would giggle and blush. Romelle and Hunk were standing by the food table awkwardly, having a shy conversation. Lance was dancing with his niece, who was standing on his feet with her arms wrapped around him, and Pidge and Sylvio were running around them like crazy people. They were all laughing. Veronica and the MFEs were deep in conversation with Keith and Krolia, though James seemed a little standoffish. And Shiro, ever the polite guest, was making small talk with all the Paladin’s families, including Coran. He was regaling them with stories of the planets he’d seen in space when the first shot rang out. 

Almost immediately, Pidge and Lance had pulled Nadia and Sylvio to the ground, shielding them with their bodies. They were slowly crawling to a hatch in the ground. It was invisible if you didn’t know where to look. They hid the kids inside when Shiro ran up to them, with Coran by his side.

“Hide him in the safe room,” he pushed Coran towards the door, “And hide with them.” Pidge was about to protest, but Shiro was already running off, herding people towards the emergency exits while using his arm to fend off the intruders. Pidge couldn’t get a good look at them because Lance had pushed her to the floor, evading a shot that would have hit her head.

“I need to fight,” she said, trying to push him off herself, “Get off me!”

“No, Pidge,” he cupped her cheek in his hand, “We need to stay with Nadia, Sylvio and Coran. We have to protect them.” Pidge was still struggling, but she had accepted that he was right. Chaos was breaking out around them. Tables were upturned, people were screaming, and there was some blood splattered on the wall. This was not good. Lance slowly got up and pulled Pidge with him. They were both shocked and frozen in place. Pidge vaguely remembers seeing Hunk and Romelle running into one of the other safe rooms, Hunk’s cousins trailing behind. Pidge watched them as the hatch door closed, becoming invisible again. She looked around, slowly coming back to her senses, and that’s when she saw it. 

Matt was going head to head with a Galra general. He was trying to push the Galran away from the crowds, but he wasn’t strong enough. There was blood in his long hair and the back of his shirt was ripped and covered in his own blood. The Galra picked him up with one hand and threw him aside, and Pidge screamed. Matt’s limp body hit a wall and fell to the ground. Pidge was screaming and crying and before she knew it Lance had picked her up and locked them in the safe room. 

“Matt- Matt, I have to, I have to help him,” Lance was holding her tightly, and Pidge was kicking a punching at him, trying to get free, “He needs my help, Lance. HE NEEDS ME, I HAVE TO GO.” She was sobbing so hard that the couldn’t see, even with the solitary lamp glowing in the corner of the small barren room. “I CAN’T LOSE HIM, NOT AGAIN- not, not again.”

“I can’t let you go out there, I’m sorry Pidge,” he sounded close to tears himself, “Matt is going to be fine, okay,” He held her shoulders, “but you can’t go out there. You have no armour and no weapons,”

“M-maybe, maybe I can summon them,” Her teary eyes brightened, “Allura infused the armour with magic so that we can summon it.” She closed her eyes and focused on her armour. She thought of Matt and how he needed her right now. She thought of all the battles she’d survived because of the armour. Pidge didn’t know it but she started glowing faintly and slowly, her paladin armour started to appear on her. If they weren’t in the midst of a battle, Lance would’ve made some joke about a magical girl transformation, but all he could do was stare. He felt a tugging in his gut as if his armour was telling him to call it, so he did.

Seconds later, both Pidge and Lance were suited up in their armour and Coran was muttering in amazement. 

“Woah!” Nadia and Sylvio were looking at them like they were the coolest people to ever exist, “That was so cool!” They seem to have completely forgotten, if only for a minute, that their lives were in danger. 

“I can’t believe it actually worked,” Pidge mumbled to herself.

“Neither can I,” Allura’s voice replied in the comms.

“Allura! Are you okay? Do you need help?” Pidge looked like she was about to burst, “Is-is Matt alive?” A scream was heard from the other side, then a thump.

“The Princess is down!” Keith yelled, seemingly out of breath, “Where are you?”  _ Crash  _ “And where’s Hunk?”

Pidge was inspecting the room while Lance spoke to Keith. She was running her hand over the walls when she saw a little crack near the corner. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that it was actually the Garrison’s logo, and it was glowing. She pressed down on the logo and with a creak, a part of the wall opened up.

“What the quiznack is this?” She motioned for Lance and the others to stay put and called her bayard.

The little hallway was dark, but the light emanating from her bayard was enough for her to see where she was going. 

“Pidge?” Lance called over the comms, “What’s in there?”   
“Nothing so far,” she scooted down the hall with her back against the wall, so no one could spring a surprise attack on her. 

“Keith’s comm line just shut off, and I can’t reopen Allura’s either,” Lance’s breathing was getting shaky.

“I-i’m sure they’re, uh, they’re fine.” A small glow was coming around a bend in the hall and Pidge readied her bayard in front of her as she slowly crept around the corner. 

It was a dead end, but it looked a lot like the door she’d left the safe room from. Sure enough, the glow was coming from a small Garrison logo embedded in the cool metal of the hall. The door opened once again and she heard a familiar scream from the other side. 

“Stay back!” Hunk was holding his bayard pointed at the door, “I won’t let you hurt the- Pidge!” 

“Hunk!” she opened up her comm line, “Lance! I found Hunk and some others.” 

Romelle grumbled something like ‘I have a name’ and ‘I’m not just some random person,’ but Pidge was too happy to see people she cared about alive. 

  
\-----------------

 

“How long do we have to stay in here,” groaned Sylvio, “I wanna go home.” The other kids agreed with him. 

“I want to see Allura,” Romelle complained while snuggling up to Hunk.

They’d all relocated to the bigger safe room and at the time, it had seemed like a brilliant idea. Now Pidge wasn’t sure she could take any more of the whining. It as bad enough that they were attacked, but now she didn’t know if her friends were safe, or even alive. She didn’t know if Matt was alive. Matt was the reason that she even went to space. If he hadn’t gone on the Kerberos mission, then there’s no way he would’ve allowed her to disguise herself as Pidge Gunderson. They would’ve still searched for their dad, but not in such extreme ways. She would’ve never met Lance and Hunk, and they never would’ve followed her onto the roof. Sure they might’ve snuck out regardless, but she had a feeling that Hunk wouldn’t have let Lance check out the explosion, especially without all her surveillance tech. They would’ve never found the Blue Lion and the Princess and Coran would still be in their 10,000-year nap. Speaking of which, poor Coran was shaken to the core. He was huddled in a corner with Lance by his side, and he was muttering in Altean. His eyes were rimmed in red and he’d long abandoned his suit jacket and tie. Lance didn’t look much better. He’d willed his armour to come off, and when it did it simply appeared on the floor in front of him. He was back in his formal wear, with the exception of his button up shirt, which he had given to Nadia when she’d crawled to Uncle Lance, complaining about the lack of heat. He was wearing a white t-shirt underneath and he was doing his best to comfort Coran, despite looking like he himself needed to be comforted. 

“I’m doing everything I can to try and communicate with someone outside the safe room,” she said when one of Hunk’s cousins and come to her, concerned about the attack, “All we know is that the communications are all being blocked.” He didn’t seem satisfied with that answer but he nodded anyway and returned to his sibling. 

Pidge didn’t understand this. She should’ve unblocked the comms by now. The attackers were all Galran to an extent, and when Lotor was on their side, she had taken the liberty of acquiring every piece of knowledge about the Galra and their tech, just in case. The thing is that she’d already tried reverse engineering every single type of blocker the Galra had used at the time. The more and more she looked at the codes, the more familiar they got, but she still couldn’t tell which planet she’d seen the tech on. 

“Pidge,” Lance’s voice startled her out of her trance, “Maybe you should take a break.” He placed a hand and her shoulder and slowly willed her to sit. Pidge wanted to relax, she really did, but she knew if she even so much as slowed down her thoughts, she would break down. Pidge needed to stay strong for the kids and for herself. Katie Holt was not easily broken, no matter how crushed she felt. 

“Okay,” she lowered her arm, the projection of code still lighting up the space near her, “I’ll take a break.” She could already feel herself getting closer to breaking down. She scolded herself mentally.

“Uhh, Pidge,” Lance looked at her quizzically, “That code thing looks suspiciously like some of the controls in the Castle.” She sat up straight, previous worries interrupted.

“Altean,” she whispered, lifting her projection arm up again, “It’s Altean!” There was still hope! She could crack Altean code easily, but wait, why was it Altean. It was the Galra who attacked them, unless. “Oh no,” she started typing furiously on her holographic keyboard, “no, no no no no, this is not good.” 

“Wait a second, back up. What’s not good?” 

“Who are the only two Alteans we know that could possibly be helping the Galra attack.” All the colour drained from Lance’s face.

“You don’t think he survived? Do you?” His eyes widened in fear, and he looked like a scared little kid who’d just seen a monster under his bed.

“Who knows, but you know who is alive? His mother. And I have a feeling she’s paid her own little trip to Oriande.” She glanced up at the room. The kids were all playing some sort of hand-clap game and Romelle was observing them intently. Hunk and Coran were having a quiet conversation. She turned to Lance. “Find anything you can that could possibly be turned into a satellite. Ask the kids to check their pockets or even give us buttons. Meet me in the other room,” she started to get up, “And bring Hunk.” 


	6. the great gala III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is short and bad and im sorry (bcuz people are tOtAlLy reading this fic lmao)  
> i just wanted to get the beginning part out of the way so i could get into the real conspiracies of this fic  
> thanks for reading (if anyone actually is)  
> x

Getting Hunk wasn’t a problem for Lance. Keeping everyone else away was the difficult part. Coran and Romelle peppered him with a million questions and he kept telling him that it was ‘All Pidge’ and that he had ‘No clue what was going on.’ It was all true, but they weren’t having it and soon enough the kids started to join in on the questions. Lance would’ve been toast if it weren’t for Pidge. 

“If you want to get out of here, you’ll quiet down and let us do what we need to,” Pidge appeared in the doorway, and Lance couldn’t help but be in awe of her authoritativeness. The room went quiet. They all wanted out as fast as possible. “Coran and Romelle are in charge until we get back.” She motioned for Lance and Hunk to join her as she stepped into the hall, towards the other room.

 

\------------

 

The second safe room had been turned into a makeshift lab, though someone walking by might’ve thought it was more of a garbage dump. Apparently, Pidge had done a quick sweep of the hall with her scanners and found a hidden supply closet, which made sense, considering these safe rooms were supposed to hold people for hours and hours. 

Lance had thought that it was at least midnight, but the watch in Pidge’s suit said that it wasn’t even 6 pm yet. He wondered what the diplomats would think, coming into a trashed room, no one to be seen. Unless the attackers were still up there, waiting for them. 

The faint sounds of gunfire had faded long ago, but Lance was more terrified at that than he was comforted. If the others were safe, surely they would’ve retrieved them by now. He felt like a rock was sitting in his gut. 

“Haggar is alive and she’s most likely got control over the Galran empire,” Pidge stated bluntly, gathering up bits of metal and joining them with wires, “There’s no real way to know what she’s planning, but whatever it is, it isn’t good,” she turned to face Hunk and Lance, “We’ll need Voltron again.”

“Wait a second, you’re telling me that we defeated Lotor, so his  _ mom _ , of all people, could become our next ‘big threat’.” Hunk waved his arms around for dramatic effect, but his face was paler than it was a few minutes ago.

“Basically, yeah.” Lance thought Pidge was being way too nonchalant about this, even though it wasn’t their biggest problem.

“These safe rooms are really dumb,” Lance started to walk around the room, “What’s the point if the only way in or out of them is from the outside!” He sighed in exasperation and slumped against the wall. 

“Well, it’s getting closer and closer to 6 o’clock and once I get this communicator working, we can get the diplomats to get us out of here,” Pidge seemed tense like there was something she wasn’t saying, “Unless..nevermind. I’m probably wrong anyway.”

“That is the weirdest thing I’ve ever heard, and I’ve heard a magic lion speak! Whatever you’re thinking, I’m sure there’s at least some truth in it.” Lance tossed a piece of metal over when she pointed at it.

“I don’t want to be right though,” She was clutching the semi-formed communicator like it was her lifeline.

“Look Pidge,” Lance got up and sat next to her, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder, “Whatever it is, we’ll get through it together. We’re the  _ Paladins of Voltron _ , remember? The mighty  _ Defenders of the Universe _ ! Whatever happened up there, I’m sure our friends will survive it,” Lance didn’t quite believe his own words, but for her sake, he tried to sound as hopeful as possible, “We know Haggar wouldn’t kill them and we know that they’re all strong and incredibly brave. Hell, they’ve probably beaten the Galra and just forgotten to come get us.” Pidge put the communicator down.

“But what if they didn’t,” Her gaze was hardened, “What if they were overpowered. What if  _ she  _ took them. What if they killed the people that weren’t needed or the people they didn’t know. What if they aren’t okay.”

“Then we’ll do everything in our power to save them,” Hunk said, looking more determined than ever, “And the best way to start is by getting the hell out of here.”

**Author's Note:**

> I uh can't write so if anyone's reading this (doubt it lmao) and u notice smth wrong like spelling or grammar plz, lmk!!  
> thank you so much for reading this far!!!!!  
> comments are appreciated and I hope you enjoy!
> 
> x


End file.
